Jun-ichi Nishizawa
|birth_place = Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan |death_date = |death_place = |residence = |citizenship = |nationality = Japan |ethnicity = |fields = |workplaces = Tohoku University lwate Prefectural University Tokyo Metropolitan University Sophia University |alma_mater = Tohoku University |doctoral_advisor = |academic_advisors = |doctoral_students = |notable_students = |known_for = |influences = |influenced = |awards = IEEE Edison Medal Order of Culture |signature = |footnotes = }} was invented by Jun-ichi Nishizawa in 1950 (+ -).]] is a Japanese engineer and inventor. He is known for his electronic inventions since the 1950s, including optical communication systems (optical fiber, laser diode, etc.), PIN diode, semiconductor laser, static induction transistor, and SIT/SITh. His inventions laid the foundations for internet technology and the information age.The Third Industrial Revolution Occurred in Sendai, Soh-VEHE International Patent Office, Japan Patent Attorneys Association He is currently a professor at Sophia University. He is considered the "Father of Japanese Microelectronics". Biography Nishizawa was born in Sendai, Japan, on September 12, 1926. He earned a B.S. in 1948, and a Doctor of Engineering degree in 1960, from Tohoku University. In 1953, he joined the Research Institute of Electrical Communication at Tohoku University. He became a professor there and was appointed director to two research institutes. From 1990 to 1996, Nishizawa served as the President of Tohoku University. He became the president of Iwate Prefectural University in 1998. Research In 1950, the static induction transistor was invented by Jun-ichi Nishizawa and Y. Watanabe.https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=3qz0gSVbaesC&pg=PA82 The PIN photodiode was also invented by Nishizawa and his colleagues in 1950.https://books.google.com/books?id=PbYgBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA137 This was the basis for the laser diode. In 1952, he invented the avalanche photodiode. In 1955, he invented the first solid-state maser.Jun-ichi Nishizawa: Engineer, Sophia University Special Professor (interview), Japan Quality Review, 2011 In 1957, he invented the semiconductor laser.The Third Industrial Revolution Occurred in Sendai, Soh-VEHE International Patent Office, Japan Patent Attorneys Association While working at at Tohoku University, he proposed fiber-optic communication, the use of optical fibers for optical communication, in 1963. Nishizawa invented other technologies that contributed to the development of optical fiber communications, such as the graded-index optical fiber as a channel for transmitting light from semiconductor lasers. He patented the graded-index optical fiber in 1964. In 1971, he invented the static induction thyristor.https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=e35kJYAlyCgC&pg=PA231 Hardware elements providing the basis of internet technology, the three essential elements of optical communication, were invented by Nishizawa: the semiconductor laser (1957) being the light source, the graded-index optical fiber (1964) as the transmission line, and the pin photodiode (1950) as the optical receiver. Awards and honors Nishizawa is a Life Fellow of the IEEE. He is a Fellow of several other institutions, including the Physical Society, the Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Polish Academy of Sciences. Nishizawa was decorated with Order of Culture by the emperor of Japan in 1989. He also received the Japan Academy Prize (1974), IEEE Jack A. Morton Award (1983), the Honda Prize and the Laudise Prize of the International Organization for Crystal Growth (1989). IEEE conferred the Edison Medal on him in 2000, and introduced the IEEE Jun-ichi Nishizawa Medal in 2002. References External links *Jun-ichi Nishizawa – Biographical article on IEEE Global History Network. Category:1926 births Category:Living people Category:People from Sendai Category:Japanese physicists Category:Japanese inventors Category:Fellow Members of the IEEE Category:IEEE Edison Medal recipients Category:Tohoku University alumni Category:Tohoku University faculty Category:Sophia University faculty Category:Recipients of the Order of Culture Category:Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 1st class Category:Foreign Members of the USSR Academy of Sciences Category:Foreign Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences